There are many instances in the design and construction of conveying equipment and the like in which it is desirable to provide a rail system not only to guide articles being carried on a conveyor but also to prevent the articles from contacting other parts of the machinery. Such contact and rubbing could cause wear or damage both to the articles and to the parts of the machinery. This is particularly true in the food industry in which food elements are being moved along a path defined by a conveyor, but in which it is also desirable to protect against wear and at the same time to be completely sanitary. Such a system must not, of course, be capable of permitting the accumulation of food particles or bacteria. At the same time, the equipment must be capable of being cleaned with strong chemical detergents and antiseptic materials. While such systems have been developed in the past, they have lacked some necessary elements, thus rendering them less than optimum in performance. Many of the systems are very complicated and expensive. Most of them are not capable of being adapted to curved paths without the bending being accomplished on heavy machinery; this means that they were not capable of being adapted to the curved path at the installation site. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a guide rail system which can be readily adapted to fit a curved path at the installation site.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a guide rail which can be formed manually and without the use of heavy machinery.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a guide rail system in which the important elements are readily replaceable in case of damage or deterioration.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a guide rail system in which the elements are formed with materials and have surfaces which are readily maintained in a sanitary condition.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a guide rail which can be cleaned with strong chemicals without deterioration.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a guide rail system which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.